Seeing Everything, Not One Thing
Why choosing breadth over depth might be the best strategy to scale your business
Funny how things go in and out of style. For a while there, the word generalist was basically a slur in online business circles. The Twitterati (X-eratti?) had spoken: niche down to blow up — or else! Be known for one thing. Make it your whole personality. The playbook: a ghostwriter and a 40-tweet thread that ends in a Notion template.
And then, just as quickly, the vibe shifted. Suddenly, “range” is trending. Now it's all about optionality. Flexibility. Multi-hyphenate energy. (Give it another year and “niching down” will be back again, this time with AI-optimized workflows.) It’s the same people swinging back and forth like a pendulum — strong opinions, loosely held, until someone with a blue check says the opposite.
It reminds me of the journey of the humble egg. Once celebrated as the perfect protein, then vilified for cholesterol, and now? Fully redeemed. So much so that egg prices became a headline on CNN. We don’t even know what we believe — we just know we need our eggs and damn, they were spendy there for a minute.
In a similar way, I’ve spent most of my career as a generalist. Not because I planned it that way, but because curiosity has always been in the driver’s seat. I’ll chase ideas, test tools, launch things, scrap them, rebuild, reimagine. I’ve dabbled, pivoted, restarted, and occasionally hit my stride. And while that kind of energy doesn’t always look polished, it’s helped me serve clients in ways that rigid specialists can’t. It’s also helped me see that chasing trends (especially ones that aren’t even your real interest) can be a huge waste of energy.
What if the superpower isn’t having the sharpest niche, but the widest lens? What if scaling isn’t about locking into one thing — but about documenting what works, building systems around it, and having the range to apply it in new ways? That’s not just a philosophical shift — it’s a tactical one. It’s how you go from being stuck in the work to building something that works without you.
Eggs! The Podcast guest, leading product visionary, and expert on the speed of change in technology Kurt Uhlir, lives and breathes this. He has scaled startups and billion-dollar companies. He has hacked government networks (mostly legally). He has built products that power some of the world's biggest brands. But more than anything, Kurt is proof that the best operators aren’t the ones who specialize — they’re the ones who learn, adapt, and document what they’ve learned so others can follow.
From Lawncare to Licensing Tech to Google — Meet Kurt Uhlir
Kurt Uhlir has worn a lot of hats — founder, investor, inventor, marketing exec, product lead, and even teenage government contractor (yep, that happened). His career began in the weeds — literally — running a lawn care business in high school with 10 employees and a spreadsheet. Since then, he’s helped scale companies from seed stage to IPO, led innovation teams at Navtech, and worked with global brands like FedEx, Microsoft, and Nokia. He's the lead inventor on more than a dozen patents licensed by the likes of Google and Facebook, and today serves as CMO at ez Home Search.
But what sets Kurt apart isn’t just the resume. It’s the way he thinks. He sees scaling as a systems problem. He treats learning like a lifestyle. And he believes great leadership comes from being in the trenches, not barking from the sidelines.
What Range Really Looks Like in the Wild
"There are always jobs that require specialists... But for most people, especially in today’s world because of technology, it is the generalist that ends up being able to truly succeed."
The insight: Don’t disqualify yourself because you can’t sum up your career in one word. Range lets you speak the language across disciplines — and that’s exactly what makes you indispensable.
"People are wanting to do things that just are not possible with the current team or the current technology… You never grow 500% with existing systems or existing technology."
The insight: If your goals are exponential, your systems can’t stay linear. Auditing your tools, workflows, and team structure isn’t optional — it’s required for scaling.
"You need to plan what you're going to do. Document the repeatable things into systems. And regularly ask: Did I actually do what I said I was going to do?"
The insight: Want to scale? Start by writing things down. SOPs and self-accountability beat inspiration every time.
"Anybody who's ever built a product knows… the only thing I can promise is that when you release it, you're going to realize you were wrong about a bunch of things."
The insight: Launch early. Iterate often. The goal isn't perfection — it's momentum. Ship something, learn something, repeat.
"You don’t get self-reflection with constant input. You have to turn off the podcasts. You need to sit with your thoughts to find what matters."
The insight: Kill the noise. Carve out quiet time. Staring at a wall might be the most productive hour of your week.
"If you're at an inflection point and can't figure it out, find someone who has. Give them 5-10 hours of free work a week just to be in the room."
The insight: Mentorship isn’t a phase — it’s a growth hack. It’s not about knowing everything, either. Get in the room with people who’ve already figured out what you’re trying to solve and get back to business.
"If you're not actively looking, your range is actually a huge asset — it opens doors before job descriptions are even written."
The insight: Stop hiding your weird resume. Your diverse experience is your foot in the door before the job exists. Start networking with curiosity, not desperation.
Making “Range“ Work for You
If there’s one thing to take from Kurt Uhlir’s experience, it’s that range isn’t a weakness — it’s leverage. When you build systems, reflect intentionally, and stay curious, the zigzag path becomes a superhighway. It’s not always clean or linear, but it works — especially when you stop apologizing for it.
Whether you’re scaling a team, launching your next thing, or just trying to figure out what comes next, the lesson is clear: build momentum, not perfection. Learn in public. Document what works. Surround yourself with people who sharpen your edge. That’s how you win with range.
Thanks for reading,
—Ryan
Ready for more?
Catch Kurt Uhlir’s interview in its entirety on Eggs! The Podcast.
Don’t miss a show! Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or really anywhere great podcasts are found.
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Reading list
If you're looking to dive deeper into the ideas discussed in this piece, here are some recommended books and resources that align with Kyle McDowell's principles:
Range by David Epstein: The book that makes the case for generalists. Epstein draws from sports, science, and business to show why breadth of experience beats early specialization in a complex, fast-changing world.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson: A portrait of a wildly nonlinear thinker. Jobs was obsessive, chaotic, intuitive — but ultimately strategic about when and how to ship. A must-read for anyone trying to turn creativity into lasting impact.
The Practice by Seth Godin: A guide for showing up consistently — even when you don’t feel ready. Godin champions momentum over perfection and helps creatives build confidence through repetition.
Atomic Habits by James Clear: Tiny habits, massive results. A tactical manual for building the kind of systems Kurt preaches — the ones that compound quietly in the background and free you to focus on higher-leverage work.
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber: Why most small businesses fail — and how to fix it. Gerber’s core thesis? You can’t scale a company if you’re trapped inside it. Build systems. Document processes. Work on the business, not just in it.
Essentialism by Greg McKeown: For generalists who feel like they’re doing too much, this is the manual for focusing on what matters. It’s about making space — and building a life around only what you’re truly built to do.
More to explore
Kurt Uhlir
https://kurtuhlir.com
https://www.youtube.com/c/KurtUhlir
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtuhlir
Work with me
Ryan Roghaar - Fractional CMO/Creative Director/Art Director: https://rogha.ar/portfolio
R2 - Creative Services for Agencies and SMBs: https://www.r2mg.com
Eggs! The Podcast: https://www.eggscast.com
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